The David Lynch Foundation's Festival of Disruption made its NYC debut at Brooklyn Steel on May 19-20, 2018 for the powerful third iteration of the immersive festival experience. Curated by David Lynch, the festival featured a hand-selected line-up of artists, performers, film screenings, meditation, and art including the Eraserhead Experience.

Erik Martin, one of the festival’s producers, explained...that Lynch acts as the “curator in the truest sense of the word. He likens the creative process to transcendence. . . . He loves to find artists who he thinks are transcendent in each of those spaces—be it music or film or visual art.

— Vanity Fair

Images courtesy of David Lynch Foundation and Yeah Field Trip!

Upon arrival to the Festival of Disruption, attendees were greeted by dramatic black velvet drapery, inviting audiences to enter the world of David Lynch’s 1977 surrealist cinematic creation, Eraserhead. Presented by the David Lynch Foundation, The Criterion Collection, Polaroid Originals, and Bang & Olufsen; The Eraserhead Experience transported participants into Lynch's "dream of dark and troubling things.” Produced by Experiential Director Nathaly Charria, the high-touchpoint activation lured audiences into The Criterion Collection’s director approved restoration of Eraserhead screened on BeoVision Eclipse, courtesy of Bang & Olufsen.

Photos by Char Alfonzo

After stepping through the black drapes and setting foot on the hand-painted checkered floor, guests were surprised to find themselves on-stage, immersed in the realm of the iconic black & white film. In this key-moment the participant becomes The Lady in The Radiator. Through meticulous attention to detail and custom set design provided by Charria and her team, this multi-sensory experiential activation brought to life the feeling that “In heaven, everything is fine.”

To emphasize the instilled feeling of nostalgia, attendees were photographed with one-of-a-kind Polaroid picture, courtesy of Polaroid Originals.

Photo by Kris Mae

Proceeds from the festival benefit the David Lynch Foundation, whose mission is reducing toxic stress and trauma among at-risk populations, including victims of domestic violence, veterans suffering from post-traumatic stress (PTS), and underserved urban youth, through the evidence-based Transcendental Meditation technique. The Foundation has reached more than 500,000 people since founding in 2005. For additional information on the work of the Foundation, or to subscribe for news about its programs and events, visit www.davidlynchfoundation.org

The Festival of Disruption is a music, art, and film festival curated by David Lynch. As part of the festivities, Polaroid Originals partnered up with the David Lynch Foundation to present a creative reproduction of the iconic Red Room portrayed in Lynch’s pioneering television series, Twin Peaks. Festival goers were able to take photos in a reproduction of the red curtain encased set on the unforgettable chevron patterned floor while sitting in the original chairs used in filming. Participants received one unique print shot of their visit to The Red Room using the new Polaroid OneStep 2 instant analog camera, courtesy of Polaroid. Curatorial expert Nathaly Charria was brought on board to steer the project’s creative reproduction for Polaroid and the David Lynch Foundation.

In addition to the Red Room recreation, Charria created an 8x10 Polaroid gallery space to exhibit Duochrome Polaroids shot by David Lynch on the set of Twin Peaks, 2016.

As the European Union signals its distancing from a seven-decade transatlantic alliance, as the United States joins Nicaragua and Syria as the only other nations to demure from the Paris Climate Agreement, as a realignment of global hegemonies occurs before our eyes, there is no better time to reflect on the narrative of globalization. The 14th Factory, a warehouse-sized installation currently open in Los Angeles, is the culmination of a life's work for Simon Birch. A Brit, transplanted to Hong Kong for the majority of his adult life, Birch has lived a life precipitated by the global reality we've all been born into.

Image courtesy of The 14th Factory

The 14th Factory in name pays homage to the Thirteen Factories which served as the West's main trading post in China during the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries. The factories were successively destroyed during the first and second Opium Wars as they became conduits of oppressive and exploitative trade relationships. This history of resource exploitation holds over in the politics of today as the West uses the cheap labor caused by a lack of enforced labor laws and complicit governments to support an unsustainable consumer economy. I recently sat down with Birch for an interview (below) to discuss his vision and experience in creating this epic visual narrative.

Birch's 14th Factory provides a place for reflection. There are no answers there but all too often we remain unaware of the inter-dependence and exploitative nature of our global society fraught with the themes Birch brings to the fore. Collision, crisis, resolution, transformation — the hero myth that Birch calls upon attempts a universality. Balancing the specific and the universal is the story of globalization now as the discourses of postcoloniality do their job, reflecting back on the exploitation of the past to mitigate the exploitative impulse of now. How does one balance development with respect? How does one consume responsibly while honoring the labor involved? How do we proceed conscientiously and how do we elevate the oppressed, both at home and abroad, to a place where they can participate in a meaningful and conscious engagement as a global society based on universal equality? What myths must be created and which myths must remain?

Donation: $18 online and $22 at the door. Youth, Seniors and Military get discounted tickets for $14 online, and residences for the Lincoln Heights neighborhood with a zip code of 90031 are eligible for free entry. Get advanced tickets through See Tickets.

The 14th Factory's "Encounter" campaign introduces the project to LA's creative community through collaboration. A global artist collective created by Hong Kong-based British artist Simon Birch, the 14th Factory invites Mecca Vazie Andrews to connect with the exhibition and space through dance, movement, performance and play. The campaign was released on Instagram as a three part series.

In the Meteor Room piece, Mecca honors family and ancestry. The colors black, white and red represent Trinidad whilst the dance attributes the light of humanity with atmospheric friction.

When I think of meteors, I think of light traveling and part of my process is relating to the idea of time. This piece is about my ancestors and how they are connected to me through light and time.

— Mecca Vazie Andrews

This piece connects to the idea of being present and being a shadow of one’s self. 

— Mecca Vazie Andrews

This piece is inspired by Simon Birch's Inhumans, which Mecca believes presents fighters in a graceful structured and organized "quarrel for no reason." She addresses the conflict of fighting one's self and the science of the human reassembling and regenerating following battle.

Hong Kong-based British Artist Simon Birch presents his large-scale experiential exhibition, The 14th Factory in Los Angeles, opening March 2017. The project is the culmination of a twenty-years of work and dedication. Taking place across three acres, at a former Chinese import-export warehouse in Lincoln Heights, the exhibition features installation, sculpture, video, painting and performance. The 14th Factory goes outside traditional institutional and gallery models and is a 501(c)(3) non-profit global artist collective made to create large-scale contemporary art experiences as act of vehicles for social change.

“Cruising," a reference to queer meeting spaces, brings together some of Los Angeles’ most iconic, emerging, and historical LGBTQ artists. The program presents a multi-generational perspective that speaks to the diversity of what it means to be queer in 2016 and seeks to honor those who have paved the way for LGBTQ visibility in contemporary culture. With the goal of creating an inclusive, inspiring, and accessible exhibition, “Cruising” is both a nostalgic reminder of yesterday's survival tactics and a call to continue constructing profound queer ecosystems in public space and within the art world.

The opening of “Cruising” will kick off LA PRIDE Festival & Parade on Friday June 10, 2016 with a free preview and curator-led exhibition tour starting at 6PM followed by an 8PM screening of Zackary Drucker’s prodigious films at the City Council Chambers (Located in the West Hollywood Library). Recently Drucker encountered censorship from institutions exhibiting her work and CSW is proud to share her voice uncensored as part of the 2016 LA PRIDE weekend. This screening will consist of “Southern For Pussy,” “Fish,” and “She Gone Rogue.” The later was commissioned by the Hammer Museum and presented at the inaugural 2012 Los Angeles Biennial, subsequently at 2014 Whitney Biennial, acquired by Smith College Museum of Art, and made possible by Luis De Jesus Gallery.

Christopher Street West Association, Inc. is a non-profit organization located in the Greater Los Angeles area. Composed entirely of passionate volunteers, CSW is dedicated to human rights, education, outreach and better understanding within the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender communities, as well as the broader community. Founded in response to the Stonewall Rebellion on Christopher Street in New York on June 28, 1969, Christopher Street West conducted the first parade in the world advocating for gay rights on June 28, 1970 in Hollywood, CA. That tradition lives on today in the form of the LA PRIDE Music Festival and Parade, now in its 46th year, taking place in the City of West Hollywood, CA.

CSW engages with event production firm JJ|LA LLC in the production and management of the LA PRIDE Music Festival & Parade.

Los Angeles documentary filmmaker Eric Minh Swenson tells the story of Millie Brown's Rainbow Body and her supporting cast in this short video. Eric focuses on documenting the LA art scene through film, photography, and writing. Within the last three years, he's produced nearly 400 films on the art world and is always a familiar face amongst the crowds.

HER is a procession and introduction to the idea of celebrity of Marcel Alcalá as Clown. Based on the entertainment industry and social media’s fetish of celebrity culture, Alcalá performs as the clown. The history of the clown as an archetype plays an important role on talking about class and McDonalization of society. This piece speaks directly to concept of entrance and paparazzi flashes on the red carpet. Alongside works by Christopher Argodale (GURT), Natacha Stolz, Jos McKain, David Tamargo (Alligator Jesus) and DJs Phyllis Navidad (Rhonda Int'l) and Ambrosia Salad. This piece will be documented via Snapchat and Instagram with live broadcast.

Marcel Alcalá (b.1990) creates encounters that upend the expectation of art as a discrete work. Venturing outside of institutional structures, Alcalá contextualizes his work in public space. Often addressing gender, social media, celebrity, and society’s McDonalization, Alcalá’s diverse practice includes performance, live situations, installations, objects, and drawings. Based on identity politics and the future/status of the "brown" body, he creates improve in real time CNX2 (Creating New Content Now). He graduated from The School of the Art Institute of Chicago in 2012, and currently lives in Los Angeles. Recent projects and exhibitions include McPoems at McDonalds Silverlake, Trains at Night Gallery, and commissions by LAXart and Night Club in Chicago. Like the socially necessary figure of the clown that fascinates him, Alcalá uses humor, play, and the absurd to level essential critiques at the extremes and everyday banalities of societal power.

Natology is proud to share Jos McKain's latest work for White Arrows' Nobody Really Cares. As the main character in the video, McKain presents a chilling performance and choreographed piece that exemplifies an outsider perspective within the social world. Acting and performance are one in the same, as an artist McKain brings stories into reality and this particular video shares just that. Congratulations to White Arrows and Jos McKain for this beautiful collaboration. It's stirred some discomfort amongst critics and praise amongst the avant-garde. Click here to read Noisey's full review. Thanks for the love!

I met Shelby Sells on a summer night turn sunrise in the Hollywood Hills. She was funny and a little punk rock so we got along right off the bat. Her voice is a little raspy which I can relate to, there’s a bond between chicks with raspy voices. Anyway, I heard her story that night about growing up in Idaho and finding her place in LA. It seems like most of us were young outcasts who refused to assimilate and are now making a living out of what made us weird. Shelby and I have shared many laughs and stayed in touch throughout our time in LA. As I learned more about her creative projects and watched them evolve, I became enamored with her work .

Shelby is a sexual anthropologist, photographer, personality, and muse. A contemporary Kiki de Montparnasse, she celebrates the joy, pain, trust, exploration and acceptance in sex, relationships, and love. She interviews, photographs, and shares her stories and that of other young creatives in her blog Pillow Talk. Shelby recently began shooting on 35mm color film and a VHS camera. Her style nods to Nan Goldin and Bunny Yeager. In documenting her subjects, they become friends. The interviews are intimate and honest, and her photographs and video reflect her subjects’ trust. I’m looking forward to sharing my recent interview and photo series with Shelby and some fun collaborations for 2015.

El Oftalmólogo Curiosoor The Curious Ophthalmologist is an curatorial blog dedicated to the curious eye and its aesthetic doctors. Alongside an invitational line up of international purveyors of all things beautiful, weird, and cool, Natology brings her favorites to the mix. Created by Madrid sister Dr. Teresa Jimenez, the concept brings together various trusted perspectives into an online gallery that is an ever-changing place for discovering the world's cultural underground. The internet hosts a great source of inspiration and El Oftomologo Curioso presents a wonderful place for sharing its visual delights. Happy New Year to my family of aesthetic doctors!

The Curious Ophthalmologist is an audiovisual blog created with the objective of showing and sharing innovative pieces that our curators “Doctors” believe that should be seen and above all distinguished by their originality.

No geographical or ideological boundaries, we want to show trends and counter-trends, rarities and oddities that have the ability to surprise and deliver the unexpected things to see.

We are interested in all types of audiovisual works: short , bumpers , trailers , advertisements, animations, experiments... and we want to show under a criterion to provide new points of aesthetic, creative and narrative view. But beware, we are a news magazine covering today ‘s environment.

That said, we hope you enjoy the blog and your aesthetic point of view better every day.